The man with a crooked smile on his face, asked, “Little girl, why did you bump into me?”
Susie instinctively stepped back, her hands clasping together tightly. “I-I didn’t mean to,” Her voice trembled slightly.
The man’s grin widened as he tilted his head, his eyes continuing their revolting inspection of her. “Didn’t mean to? Hmm… didn’t mean to… didn’t mean to…” he mumbled to himself for a few seconds but then just shrugged as he said with a grin. “It doesn’t matter if you meant it or not, but you’re just lucky you ran into me. Some of my boys here wouldn’t take it so kindly.”
The gang behind him chuckled darkly, one of them muttering, “She looks like she doesn’t belong here.”
“You’ve already wasted my time, little bird. And look at this!” The man gestured to his torn sleeve, the fabric frayed and dirty. “You tore my shirt.”
Susie’s eyes widened in confusion. “What? I didn’t—your shirt was already torn!”
“Don’t lie to me, girl,” he interrupted, his voice growing harder. “It wasn’t like this before you bumped into me. You gonna pay me back for it, or what?”
Behind him, the gang burst into laughter, their mocking voices filling the street.
“Yeah, pay him back!” one of them jeered. “That’s a nice shirt you ruined!”
Another added with a grin, “Or maybe she can work it off some other way, boss!”
The man leaned forward, his face uncomfortably close to hers. “You’re trembling,” he said with mock concern. “You scared, little bird? Don’t worry. I don’t bite... unless you give me a reason to.”
Susie’s discomfort deepened as the man closed the distance. Before she could retreat further, his hand shot out and landed heavily on her shoulder. The weight of his grip made her flinch. Slowly, he began to caress her shoulder with his thumb, his rough skin brushing against her soft bare skin. “No need to be scared. You’re a pretty thing. Too pretty to be walking around here without saying sorry properly.”
Susie jerked her shoulder, trying to pull away, but his grip tightened. “Stop it,” she said, her voice sharper now, though the tremor in her tone betrayed her unease. “Let go.”
The gang erupted into more laughter, one of them calling out, “She’s shaking like a leaf!”
Another chimed in, “She better start making up for that shirt!”
Susie’s hands clenched tighter as she averted her gaze, her face pale and her breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.
“That’s enough.” Elise’s voice cut through the group’s laughter like a blade.
The man’s head turned toward her, his grin unfaltering as his eyes raked over Elise. “And you are?” he asked, tilting his head mockingly. “Her little friend? Or maybe her big sister?”
Elise glared at him. “I said that’s enough. She didn’t tear your shirt, and you know it.”
The man chuckled, his shoulders shaking. “Oh, I know it? And what are you gonna do about it? Hmm?” His grin widened as he looked her over. “You’re got a mouth on you, don’t you? I like that” Then he saw Elise's body and her small face which seemed like beautifully carved out doll. A vile grin appeared on his face, “Keke, it's good you came. One wasn’t going to be enough anyway, my boys deserve another pretty bird”
Elise face contorted in utter disgust at the man’s words. She was about to say something but then a voice came from behind her.
“Hey!” Emma stepped forward, her small frame tense with defiance. “Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size, you oversized ape?”
The gang fell silent for a brief moment before bursting into laughter again, one of them slapping his knee. “Did you hear that, boss? An ape! She called you an ape!”
“Bahaha! Look at her! She said to pick someone her size!”
The man’s grin didn’t falter, but his eyes darkened slightly as he looked at Emma. “And who are you supposed to be, little one?” he asked. “The mouse protecting the bird?”
Emma crossed her arms, glaring at him without hesitation. “Yeah, and you look like you’ve got half a brain, so why don’t you get your disgusting hand off her and crawl back to whatever sewer you came from?”
The gang howled with laughter, one of them doubling over. “The little one’s got more guts than the other girl!”
“Careful, boss, she might bite!”
Then before the man could say anything, Elise darted forward and clamped a hand firmly over Emma’s mouth. “She didn’t mean that,” Elise said quickly as she glared at the man. “She’s just a kid. Leave her out of this.”
“Mmph!” Emma struggled against Elise’s grip, her muffled protests loud and insistent. She managed to pull back just enough to shout, “No, Sister Elise! I can take care of them mys—mmph!”
Elise silenced her again, forcefully covering her mouth once more. “No, you can’t,” she hissed under her breath, tightening her grip on Emma’s shoulder as she stepped partially in front of her. In her eyes, Emma was just a harmless child and she didn’t want her to become a target for these men.
The man raised a brow, clearly amused, “You’re good at keeping her in line, but maybe you should teach her to think before she speaks. Wouldn’t want her getting herself into trouble.”
Elise’s expression twisted with disgust, her jaw tightened as she kept her hand firmly over Emma’s mouth, her glare never wavering.
Meanwhile, Susie tried again to pull her shoulder free, her unease growing as the man’s hand brushed against her skin, making her feel disgusted.
Around them, people began to notice the commotion and the marketplace had fallen into uneasy silence. Parents pulled their children away, whispering urgently, “Don’t look. Keep walking.” Others turned their backs or hurried into nearby shops, their faces etched with helplessness.
“It’s the Blackwater gang again...”
“No one can stand up to them. They’ll do whatever they want.”
“Those poor girls... but there’s nothing we can do.”
The man’s grin twisted into something more revolting, his eyes glinting with lustful excitement. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a taste of girls who look this good. Keke, Let me see how you taste”.
His hand, still resting on Susie’s shoulder, moved with vile intent toward her face. Susie flinched, her eyes instinctively squeezed shut as the man’s hand neared her.
But it never came.
Grab!
A crushing force suddenly clamped on the man’s wrist, yanking it away from Susie with such power that he stumbled slightly. His head snapped to the side, and he froze. Seren stood beside Susie with his hand gripping the man’s wrist and an intense look on his face.
“Who the hell—” the man started, but his words faltered as a sharp, numbing pain radiated through his wrist. ‘What... What’s happening? I can’t move my hand!’
Susie’s eyes flew open when she felt the man’s hand forcibly removed. She turned her head and gasped softly. Seren stood beside her, his face was calm but his eyes were eerily sharp.
Seren glanced at Susie and his gaze softened slightly as he saw her looking at him. But then his eyes narrowed, a flicker of cold flashing through them as he noticed the tremor in Susie’s stance and the way she felt relieved to see him come to her rescue.
The man’s breath hitched as Seren then turned his full attention back to him. The icy look in Seren’s eyes chilled him to his core. “Y-you don’t know who you’re messing with,” he stammered, trying to muster bravado.
Seren didn’t reply. Instead, his grip tightened further, and with a fluid motion, he wrenched the man’s arm straight before slamming his elbow into the joint.
Crack!
“AHHHHHH!” The man screamed as the sound of breaking bone echoed through the marketplace. He dropped to his knees, clutching his mangled arm, now bent at an unnatural angle.
"ARGHAAA!!! My arm! My arm!"
The marketplace fell into stunned silence, the only sound the labored screams of the man kneeling on the ground, clutching his mangled arm. The gang stood frozen, their smirks replaced with wide-eyed shock.
Finally, one of the men found his voice, shouting, “What the hell have you done?!”
“Do you even know who we are?! We’re the Blackwater gang! THE Blackwater gang!” Another stepped forward, his face twisting with rage.
A third pointed at Seren. “You’ve made a big mistake! Messing with us is gonna cost you your—”
Before he could finish, Seren raised his hand. His moonblade relic activated with a silvery glow and the blade shot out in a straight line.
Schwing!
The man’s head hit the ground with a sickening thud and his headless body crumpled lifelessly beside it. The commoners gasped in unison, their wide eyes filled with horror as blood pooled around the body.
Seren’s cold voice cut through the stunned silence. “I don’t care which hole you crawled out of.” His gaze swept over the remaining men. “But you put your filthy hands on someone you shouldn't have"
He then yelled out in anger that made the gang shrivel up. "I will not just ruin you—I will exterminate your entire bloodline! I will make you wish you’d never been born!”
One of them stumbled back in fear, falling to his knees as he stuttered, “H-he’s a Lexarch!”
The remaining gang members stood frozen, their bravado evaporating as fear overtook them.
Then another amused voice broke the silence.
“Hehe, I was wondering what kind of reaction you’d have, Seren,”
The man said as he strode forward, his chained sword in hand. It was Lorien. His smirk faded into a sharp, serious expression as he faced the terrified gang. “I have to say—I’m not disappointed. These trash do need to be exterminated”
He swung the chained sword once, the blade whistling through the air before it slammed into the ground near the men.
Crash!
The impact sent a shockwave through the dirt, scattering dust and debris. The gang scrambled back, their fear erupting into panicked cries.
“R-run!” one of them shouted, his voice cracking as they turned to flee.
But they didn’t get far.
Slam!
A heavy sword plunged into the ground directly in their path, stopping them dead in their tracks.
Kai appeared beside the sword, pulling it from the dirt with deliberate slowness. His expression was unusually dark as he looked at the gang before beginning to advance toward them without saying a word.
The gang froze in place, their gazes darting between Lorien and Kai. Trapped between the two, their panic only grew.
“W-we’re surrounded!”
Despair washed over their faces as another person casually strolled into their view with his hands in his pockets and relaxed posture. The person glanced over the gang with a faint frown, his head shaking slightly as if in disappointment.
“Seriously,” Finn said, sighing dramatically, “this is why I can’t stand surprises.” He walked past Seren, his tone tinged with irritation as he continued. “A bunch of random nobodies thinking they could take us on? Honestly, if I’d known they were this stupid, I would’ve started things myself. At least then I’d get all the attention.”
The gang’s heads darted frantically between the advancing Kai, Lorien’s unrelenting gaze, and Finn’s nonchalant but unnerving presence.
Pinned from all sides, their fear turned to despair, and one of them whispered shakily, “We’re dead…”
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
The gang stood frozen, their fear and desperation mounting as they remained pinned between the advancing parties. One of the men with a shaky voice tried to reason with them.
“L-listen! You don’t know what you’re getting into!” he stammered, stepping forward slightly but stumbling on his words.
His comrades shot him nervous glances, but no one stopped him as he continued. “If you do anything to us, the Lexarch backing us won’t let it slide!”
A few of the other men flinched at his words as they remembered they also had a Lexarch backing them. One of them muttered under his breath, “That’s right... We have a Lexarch as well. He will protect us...”
Emboldened by the slight support from his comrades, the man puffed up his chest. “He’s not just any Lexarch!” he exclaimed, his voice gaining a bit more strength. “He’s from a big family! A powerful one! And if you lay a hand on us, he’ll—”
Thud!
The man’s words were cut off by a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down in disbelief, his trembling hands moving toward the golden spear now embedded in his torso. His mouth opened as if to speak, but only blood spilled out as he violently coughed, his knees buckling before his body fell backward with a heavy thud.
He was dead.
“Ah, my bad,” Finn said with an unsorry look on his face. “He was talking so much shit, I couldn’t hold back from killing him.”
Lorien smirked. “That so? Seems like your aim’s gone to shit, though. Couldn’t even hit the head properly.”
“I wasn’t going for the head!” Finn shot him a glare as he said with annoyance.
Lorien ignored Finn’s antics, turning his attention back to the remaining men. His smirk faded into a cold, calculating expression as his eyes narrowed. “A Lexarch from a big family backing you, huh?” he muttered to himself. “Interesting. I wonder which daring family is openly supporting hooligans like you.”
The gang exchanged nervous glances, their trembling hands tightening around their weapons. They could feel their opponents didn't care which family was behind them.
“W-we can’t run… They’ll cut us down if we turn our backs.”
“Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!” another hissed, panic creeping into his tone.
The man closest to the front gritted his teeth. “We fight,”
The others flinched at his words, but no one voiced disagreement.
“They’re just men like us!” one of them shouted, his voice cracking as he tried to muster courage.
“Take ‘em down!” yelled another.
With a collective scream, they raised their weapons and charged. Their faces were pale with terror, but their eyes burned with the desperate resolve of cornered animals. They surged forward with shaky, uneven steps, hoping that their numbers could overwhelm Lorien and Kai.
Kai stepped into their advance like a predator among sheep. His sword flashed, cutting arcs of cold steel that severed limbs and cleaved torsos. Blood sprayed, weapons shattered and screams filled the air. Panic began to seep into the mob as bodies fell and their momentum faltered as they saw Kai breezing through their ranks.
Lorien was no less lethal. He swung his chained sword with brutal efficiency as the blade sliced through multiple men in a single motion. His strikes were calculated as not a single movement was wasted.
“Pathetic,” he scoffed as another man fell to the ground. “Finn, don’t use any relics against them. They are even weaker than the training dummies at home” He called out.
Finn laughed harshly as he weaved through the chaos. His spear was a streak of death, stabbing and slashing with relentless speed. "Do I look like an idiot to you?!" he barked with scorn in his tone. “Why waste my precious soul energy on this trash!” His spear flashed like lightning, and each man who tried to attack him fell in seconds. Blood trailed in his wake as he weaved effortlessly through the panicked mob.
One of the gang members froze, his body trembling as he helplessly watched his comrades fall like leaves in a storm. His breathing was ragged, eyes wide with disbelief. To him, the three opponents before him weren’t fighters—they were monsters.
It had to be said that all three of them came from the renowned Lexarch families. For them, facing up to fifty trained warriors in training was the norm that was drilled into them from childhood. This mob of poorly trained, desperate men? They were nothing but lambs stumbling into the slaughter. Like children doomed the moment they charged.
Desperation etched across the man’s face as he frantically looked for a way to escape. Then his eyes suddenly landed on Elise, who stood near the side of the marketplace, seemingly uninvolved in the carnage and protecting Emma who was near her. His lips curled into a twisted grin as the idea formed in his mind.
‘If I take her, I can get out of this!’ he thought, his fear momentarily replaced with resolve.
Thinking of this, he charged toward Elise, his sword raised as he let out a desperate yell. “Don’t move or I will kill you!”
Elise’s gaze flicked toward the man, her face was calm and unreadable. She didn’t move as the man barreled toward her, his hand reaching out to grab her.
But just as his hand touched her, it passed through her body like smoke. The man stumbled forward as he hit the ground in confusion. “W-what the hell?!” he stammered, his eyes wide with panic.
Swift Cloak Relic!
Elise looked down at him coldly, her expression devoid of emotion. Reaching behind her, she drew a sleek katana she had crafted herself. The blade gleamed under the light as she raised it high.
In one elegant motion, she swung downward.
Schwick!
The man screamed as his arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder, blood pooling beneath him as he writhed in agony.
Elise stood over him, her katana dripping with blood in her hands.
But then out of nowhere, her cold expression began to falter as her gaze lingered on the severed arm. She then instinctively covered her mouth with one hand, her face turning pale as she fought the wave of nausea rising in her chest.
“Ugh… even after all that practice... I still can’t get used to this... cutting another human.”
Meanwhile, Susie stood frozen, her wide eyes fixed on the chaos unfolding before her. Lorien’s chained sword whirled like a deadly blur, Kai’s strikes carved through the gang effortlessly, and Finn darted through the fray unobstructed. These were the Blackwater gang—the people that had terrorized the commoner’s village. They had been around since she was a child—but her friends were dispatching them as though they were nothing more than flies.
Then, her view was suddenly blocked as Seren stepped in front of her. His sudden presence brought her back to reality.
“Susie,” he said, but sharper than usual. “Why didn’t you do anything when that man was putting his hands on you?” He asked in low tone.
Susie blinked, her mouth opening as her thoughts scrambled to form a response. “I-I…” she stammered. “They’re... they’re the Blackwater gang,” she finally managed to say, her words coming out in a rush. “As a commoner, I can’t... I can’t do anything against them.”
Seren’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, his expression hardened. “That’s not an excuse,” he said bluntly in a stern voice that made her chest tighten. Susie fell silent. For a moment, it felt like he was angry with her.
But then his eyes softened ever so slightly. “Did you forget, you’re not a commoner anymore, Susie.”
Susie blinked at him, his words sinking in but not yet fully registering.
“You’re a Lexarch now,” Seren continued, gesturing to the man writhing on the ground, clutching his mangled arm. “It doesn’t matter how many worthless scum like this come after you. Against a Lexarch, they’ll end up the same—broken or dead. You’re not the powerless girl who couldn’t stand up for herself.”
Susie’s lips parted as his words struck something deep within her. She looked down at her trembling hands and then back at the man on the ground. She had forgotten that she was no longer the powerless girl from before who had to lower herself in front of others.
Seren’s voice softened further as he stepped closer, his expression easing into something more gentle. “You have to take care of yourself. I’m not always going to be there to step in.” He paused, and then reach out as he gently placed on Susie's cheek, lightly caressing her. He then said in what was almost a whisper, “...I just don’t want to see you hurt.”
Her breath caught at the way he looked at her and she realized he was angry with her because he was genuinely worried.
Susie’s cheeks flushed as his words settled in, and she looked down, unable to hold his gaze any longer. “I... I’ll try,” she murmured, nodding gently as a blush crept up her face, feeling the gentle brush of his touch and his attentive gaze. She almost wanted to lean into his firm hand and feel it closer. But she restrained herself.
“...Good,” Seren said simply, before slowly pulling away his hand and stepping aside. He shifted his attention back to the battlefield, leaving Susie with her thoughts.
As he turned his attention back to the battlefield, Susie stole a glance at him, her heart fluttering after seeing his face.
‘He still cares about me’ she thought, her chest tightening with a mix of relief and warmth.
Her gaze lingered on Seren. The way he had threatened to kill anyone who touched her, the stern anger in his voice when he scolded her for not protecting herself, and the way he gently caressed her cheek with in a concerned manner—it was all so clear to her now. But it hadn’t always been like this.
Her mind drifted back to the first time he had rejected her. She’d asked him if she could come along to see one of his experiments. He had said no, explaining that he didn’t want to be disturbed. She’d believed him then, brushing off the rejection without much thought.
‘He’s busy’ she had reasoned, convincing herself that it wasn’t a big deal.
But then, a few days later, Seren mentioned he was going to do experiments again—this time with Elise. The memory made her stomach knot even now. She had been taken aback, her heart sinking as she tried to make sense of it.
‘He said he didn’t want to be disturbed... but now he’s taking Elise with him?’
The fear then crept in quickly.
‘What if something happens between them?’
The thought had been irrational, maybe even selfish, but it had consumed her in that moment. She’d then worked up the courage to say she would go along with him this time, determined to keep things the way they were.
But Seren had stopped her again. His excuse had been painfully practical: she needed to visit her family, so it wasn’t a good idea for her to come along.
Her chest tightened at the memory. ‘It wasn’t just that he didn’t let me go... it was that he didn’t even try to make it work. He didn’t try to convince me to stay or tell me it could wait. He just... let me go.’
It had hurt. It had hurt so much more than she wanted to admit. She had told herself it was fine, that she should go visit her family. But the truth was, she hadn’t planned to see them before the mission at all. After learning they were heading to the second peak for their mission, she’d decided to delay the visit and planned to see her family during the mission instead.
But when Seren told her not to come along—when he didn’t even try to find a way for her to join him—it felt like a slap to the face. He hadn’t tried to persuade her, hadn’t shown the slightest effort to keep her close. At the time, she’d bitten her lip, forcing down the ache in her chest, and left for her family anyway without telling Seren she’d been planning to delay her visit.
The idea that Seren was losing interest in her, or worse, that he liked Elise, had planted itself firmly in her mind. A flicker of resentment—maybe even hate—had begun to build in her heart toward him. She’d tried to push it aside, to hide it, but it gnawed at her with every glance he didn’t return, every word he left unsaid.
But now… now everything was different.
The way he had threatened to kill anyone who touched her, the stern anger in his voice when he scolded her for not protecting herself—it wasn’t indifference. It was worry. Concern. He still cared, even if he didn’t always show it the way she wanted him to.
‘I was wrong... I was so very wrong… He wasn’t pushing me away’
Her gaze fell to the ground as a faint smile tugged at her lips. For the first time in what felt like days, the weight she’d been carrying in her chest began to lift. ‘He still cares about me. He still has a place for me in his heart’
And with that thought, a warmth rose from her chest, so intense it almost ached. It wasn’t the gentle, fleeting warmth she’d felt before whenever she was with him—it was something much deeper, something that consumed her completely.
She was falling deeper in love.
…
‘Keke, this situation is perfect!’
Seren thought, though his face betrayed none of the delight stirring inside him. His expression remained stoic as his cold eyes scanned the battlefield, but inside, his mind hummed with satisfaction.
‘I never thought Susie would get caught by some random gang members—giving me the perfect chance to save her!’
This was an opportunity he couldn’t have engineered better himself. For days, Seren had been carefully laying the groundwork, drawing Elise closer while pushing Susie away. Every cold word, every instance of feigned indifference, every subtle favor shown to Elise—it had all been intentional.
Human emotions were laughably easy to manipulate if you understood them well enough. People were creatures of instinct, of patterns. Love, jealousy, anger, pride—they all flowed like streams down predictable paths, and Seren was a master at manipulating them.
This technique he employed, this "push-and-pull," was the cornerstone of his manipulation. It was both simple and profound, as much an art as a science.
‘When someone precious to you begins to pull away, it is the natural reaction to chase after them. It is a base instinct—a primal need to hold onto what feels like it’s slipping away.
But herein lies the brilliance of the technique: “People rarely chase for long”
Why?
Pride!’
Seren’s lips curled slightly at the thought.
‘Ah, pride—the silent ruler of human behavior. Pride is the invisible chain that keeps most people from reaching out when they feel someone slipping away. Even the meekest, most self-deprecating person has pride somewhere inside them. That pride says: “Why should I demean myself?” “Why should I lower my worth chasing after someone who doesn’t value me?” People like to think they are above such petty concerns, but pride is insidious. It works silently, controlling them even when they think they are in control.
And so, they let go’
He allowed his gaze to wander over the battlefield, though his thoughts remained focused inward. ‘But letting go doesn’t mean moving on. Oh, no. That’s when the real magic happens.
Once someone decides to let go, their pride doesn’t stop working. Instead, it twists their feelings. Love turns sour. Resentment grows. Their mind twists the narrative to protect their pride. “They don’t deserve me,” they think. “How dare they treat me this way? They’re the ones who’ve lost something, not me.” And so, love, once sweet and intoxicating, ferments into something bitter. Resentment grows, feeding on itself, becoming a festering wound in the heart.
The stronger the love was, the deeper the wound becomes.
And this is where the beauty of the technique lies’
Seren thought, his gaze flicking back to Susie for a moment. Her flushed cheeks, her trembling smile—she was already falling into the trap.
‘Because hate born from love is the easiest thing in the world to flip back into its original form.
It requires only a moment. A single act of genuine concern, a single gesture of affection—that’s all it takes. Hate collapses under the weight of its own contradictions, and the person’s pride rewrites the narrative again. Suddenly, the coldness wasn’t indifference, but misunderstanding. The distance wasn’t rejection, but protection. And the love, once fragile and uncertain, returns stronger than ever, purified by relief and guilt’
Seren’s lips curled faintly as he watched Susie lower her gaze, a small, vulnerable smile tugging at her lips.
‘Kekeke, now Susie can do nothing but blame herself for doubting me, for letting those hateful thoughts poison her mind. And now, all that bitterness has turned into love—pure and overwhelming! And the best part? She’ll drown in guilt for ever thinking otherwise, hating herself while loving me even more!’
“Arghhh…”
A pained groan escaped from the man lying on the ground, snapping Seren’s attention back to him. The pitiful wretch was trembling, his mangled arm cradled uselessly against his chest as he tried to stay still. He dared not move, knowing any sudden motion would intensify the pain.
The man cracked open his swollen eyes, his gaze darting upward—and froze. Seren was staring down at him with his crimson cold eyes, unfeeling.
Then suddenly Seren’s lips curled up into a cruel, twisted smile with pure malice behind it.
A wave of deathly chills coursed through the man’s body, paralyzed by the sheer malevolence radiating from Seren.
Seren crouched near the man slightly and in a voice dripping with quiet, venomous delight, he whispered.
“I’m going to be honest with you. Starting now, I will be brutally torturing you in front of everyone. And then I will kill you. So she’ll know how much I love her through your pain.”